Gooney Bird on the Map Read Free

middle," Mrs. Pidgeon suggested. With her finger she traced an imaginary line around the orange.
    "Like an obi?" Keiko said. "Around my
obaachan's
middle?" When she saw that the children looked puzzled, she explained, "That means 'grandma.' When my
obaachan
wears a kimono, she has an obi tied around—"
    "Oh, Keiko, I'm sorry," Mrs. Pidgeon said. "I should have explained that I meant the orange to be the
earth
"
    "Like Gooney Bird's LOVE YOUR MOTHER T-shirt, with the picture of the earth on it?" Keiko asked.
    "Just like that," the teacher said with a smile. "What line goes around the middle of the earth?" she asked.
    Malcolm leaped from his chair. "I know! I know! The equator!" he shouted.
    The other children all nodded, remembering. "Equator," they said. "Equator."
    "Right! And the closer you are to the equator, the warmer it will be. Hawaii is closer to the equator than Vermont. So Hawaii—"
    "—is very, very warm," Barry pointed out. "That's why I'll be surfing, and people in Vermont will be—"
    "Snowboarding!" Ben said. "Which is way cooler than lying on a beach!"
    "Excuse me," Beanie announced, "but in Orlando, Florida, where I will just happen to be on my vacation, the weather will be—"
    Mrs. Pidgeon sighed. "Thanks, Keiko," she said, and gave the orange back.
    Beanie, Ben, and Barry continued to argue over who was going to the best vacation spot. The other children were all silent.
    "Could William Henry Harrison snowboard?" Malcolm asked Gooney Bird. She shook her head no.
    "Or surf?" asked Nicholas.
    Gooney Bird shook her head again. "No," she said. "I think on vacations he just stayed home and had nice times with his family. Probably he went to the library."
    "Or bowling," Chelsea suggested.
    "I bet he played Scrabble," Felicia Ann suggested.
    "Those are all good things to do on vacation," Keiko said in a small voice.
    Mrs. Pidgeon folded her paper napkin and gathered her trash. "Yes," she said. "They certainly are." She leaned back in her chair and tossed her lunch remains into the trash can.
    "Good shot," said Nicholas.
    "Well, of course! My heart said,
U Go, Girl
" Mrs. Pidgeon pointed out.
    "Everybody finished with lunch?" she asked the students. They nodded.
    "And dessert? Did you eat your candy hearts?"
    But the children shook their heads. They had all saved their valentine hearts carefully.
    "Okay, then, I'll save mine, too," said Mrs. Pidgeon. She put her heart into the pocket of her jacket. "And now," she told them, "I'll pull down the map of the United States, and—"
    "We didn't finish our math worksheets yesterday," Chelsea pointed out. "Subtraction. If one person has sixteen candy hearts and another person is very grabby and grabs five candy hearts—"
    "Yes, or one person has fifty-three Oreos?" Nicholas suggested. "And then—"
    "Who would have fifty-three Oreos?" Tyrone interrupted. "Nobody!" Nicholas punched him.
    "Children, children, children," Mrs. Pidgeon said. She moved between the two boys and separated them.
    "You said we had to have our worksheets done by the end of school yesterday," Chelsea pointed out.
    Mrs. Pidgeon sighed. "Well, that's true. I did. Maybe—" she said.
    "Mrs. Pidgeon?" It was Gooney Bird.
    "Yes?"
    "Remember I had an idea starting, and it was just in small pieces? Well, I've put it together. It's a completely ready idea now."
    The second-graders all grinned with excitement. They always did when Gooney Bird had an idea.

3.
    "In a minute," Gooney Bird said. "I'll tell you my idea in a minute, after Mrs. Pidgeon finishes explaining about the equator."
    Several pull-down maps were rolled tight at the top of the chalkboard. "There are six maps here," Mrs. Pidgeon said. "But I'm just pulling down one at the moment. How many maps are still rolled up?"
    The children groaned. "Five! That's so
easy!
" Nicholas called.
    "Correct. Six minus one equals five." The teacher pulled down a map that showed the entire world, even Antarctica (Barry Tucker man